10 new dates for Jack the Ripper followers

PUBLISHED: 22:29 18 September 2008 | UPDATED: 13:38 05 October 2010

Another victim of Jack the Ripper is found in a Whitechapel alley

JACK the Ripper is still the source of popular interest as well as serious academic study, 120 years on. The Ripperology industry’ thrives today as much as it has ever done since the murders in Victorian London’s East End. The Museum in Docklands is staging a series of talks and offering guided walks through the streets of Whitechapel where Jack the Ripper stalked his victims

THE fascination of the 1888 Whitechapel Murders continues unabated around the world.

Jack the Ripper is still the source of popular interest as well as serious academic study, 120 years on.

The 'Ripperology industry' thrives today as much as it has ever done since the murders in Victorian London's East End, with theories emerging year on year over the identity of Britain's most notorious serious killer who was never caught.

East London's Museum in Docklands, just four miles from Whitechapel where at least five prostitutes-some say as many as 11-were hacked and butchered to death, has been running a unique exhibition since May showing many artifacts and documents never seen before. The exhibition ends in November.

Meanwhile, the museum at West India Quay, Canary Wharf, is staging a series of talks and offering guided walks through the streets of Whitechapel where Jack the Ripper stalked his victims. There is also a film show of one of the first Ripper movies from the 1920s.

JACK THE RIPPER EVENTS

September-October, 2008

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Wednesday, September 24: 6pm

Jack the Ripper Guided walk

Whitechapel 1888: five women, victims of circumstance, social deprivation and poverty, become victims in the Whitechapel Murders. Hear these women's stories, all pathetic, most of them mothers, and think about who their killer was. Led by tourist guide Denise Allen.

2 hours. Advanced booking: £7.50.

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Sunday, September 28: 2.30pm

The Lodger (film, 1926)

Full length showing of Hitchcock's eerie thriller based on the story of Jack the Ripper, made in 1926. Foggy London Town is gripped by fear as a vicious serial killer known as 'The Avenger' who stalks the streets. A family becomes suspicious when their new lodger shows signs of nervous agitation and starts taking midnight strolls. Introduction by Professor Clive Bloom.

1 hour 30 mins. Advanced booking: £7.50 (£5 concessions)

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Sunday, September 28: 10.30am

From Suffering to Salvation

From Victorian prostitution to feminist cooperatives, tourist guide Rachel Kolsky leads a walk that takes in a range of women's experiences in Whitechapel and offers an alternative perspective on the area (In partnership with The Women's Library at Whitechapel).

2 hours. Advanced booking: £7.50p

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Thursday, October 2: 1.10pm

'Foul of mouth and evil eyed'-Francis Galton and the Victorian Criminal

Natasha McEnroe of University College, London, explores the world of Victorian eugenics and criminal profiling. She focuses on Francis Galton, a Victorian polymath, a controversial figure known as the inventor of fingerprint identification which formed part of his lifelong research into 'eugenics'-a term he coined. Galton, a cousin of Darwin and heavily influenced by his ideas, was convinced that health, wealth and success were solely matters of genetics.

A chance to explore some of the issues tackled by today's Ripperologists through a closer look at the objects on display in the exhibition. Speakers include acknowledged Ripper expert Donald Rumbelow, discussing the Ripper Diary (in conjunction with Ripperologist magazine and the organizers of the biannual UK Ripper conferences).

6 hours. Advanced booking: £20 (£15 concessions)

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Thursday, October 23: 1.10pm

Victorian workhouses

Peter Higginbotham explores the world of Victorian workhouses and their importance in the lives of the poor and destitute at this time.

50 mins. Free

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Wednesday, October 29: 6.0pm

Jack the Ripper Guided walk

Whitechapel 1888: five women, victims of circumstance, social deprivation and poverty, become victims in the Whitechapel Murders. Hear these women's stories, all pathetic, most of them mothers, and think about who their killer was. Led by tourist guide Denise Allen.

2 hours. Advanced booking: £7.50.

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Thursday, October 30: 1.10pm

Imaginative Geography of the Whitechapel Murders

Prof John Marriott, University of East London, explores how and why in the 1880s Whitechapel was created in the public imagination as "a mythical site of Gothic horror, depravity and fearful danger."

50 mins. Free

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Museum in Docklands is at West India Quay, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4AL